Capturing the Essence of Summer on the Black Sea

This post was originally published in December 2013. We’re resurfacing it as part of our #ThrowbackThursday effort to give some love to our favorite posts.—The Proof Team

After covering conflict and other difficult subjects, some photojournalists can reach a burnout point. It’s not surprising that this often leads them to work on side projects that are, well, less heavy in nature.

Mathias Depardon, a freelance photographer based in Istanbul, had a brief experience covering conflict photography in Libya before realizing he wanted to redirect his energy into work like his most recent project, “Black Sea Postcards,” which delves into the many cultural layers of the Black Sea region—made up of the coastal areas of Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Young men jump into the Black Sea near the harbor in Novorossiysk, Russia. In 1942, the town was occupied by Germans, but a small unit of Soviet sailors defended one part of the town, known as Malaya Zemlya, for 225 days. Novorossiysk was awarded the title ‘Hero City’ in 1973.

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Depardon says he was drawn to the region because of its history, which has post-Soviet influences in some areas, and European or Middle Eastern influences in others.

“It seems like the younger generation carefully purges memories of Soviet times, but the older inhabitants cling on to ideas of security delivered through communism,” he said. “I wanted to trace the visual scars of past eastern European conflicts, of an unadorned daily life, of diminished prosperity. I wanted to feel this paradoxical coexistence between the former Soviet Union socialism and the fervent liberalism that has taken root in the region and persists to this day.”

A man checks out competitors at the annual Kirkpinar Oil-Wrestling tournament in Edirne, Turkey. The tournament has been held annually since 1346, usually in late June, at the town near the Greek-Turkish border.

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Muslim women swim wearing abayas on the beach near Zonguldak, Turkey.

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Depardon says this project was unlike past projects because of its fluid nature: “Every day I woke up with no idea of what I was going to find.”

This approach was entirely different from his experience covering news events, where he follows the action and can loosely predict what might happen each day. He said it was a therapeutic change for him after coveringimmigration, natural disasters, and the Arab Spring, even though it required several months of work, including days where his search for images came up dry. But his persistence paid off—resulting in photos that have the light, effervescent quality of being on holiday, while showcasing the region’s storied history at the same time.

A local vendor sells inflatable rafts in front of a hotel in the popular holiday resort town of Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.

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A woman lies on an immense memorial at Malaya Zemlya, in Novorossiysk, Russia. The structure represents the Russian defeat of the Germans at this outpost in 1943.

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Tourists stand by the Aquapark swimming pool, in the popular holiday resort town of Sunny Beach, Bulgaria.

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Traditionally, postcards show us small snippets of a place, yet are also meant to convey something about its meaning or significance—whether it’s a landmark or landscape. So, while Depardon’s project is essentially an essay about a body of water and the people who live there, his “postcards” showcase the uniqueness of the region while still containing the weight of a complex past.

A man tries to fix an engine problem in Batumi, Georgia.

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A man takes a bath in sulfur water from the spring of Matesta, in a sanatorium in Sochi, Russia.

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The oceanfront in Sukhum, the capital of Abkhazia—a disputed region on the Black Sea. Abkhazia considers itself to be an independent state, while the Georgian government considers it to be part of Georgia.

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“Black Sea Postcards” has been shown at the Angkor Photo Festival in Cambodia, the Obscura Festival of Photography in Malaysia, and at the Dust and Scatches Gallery in Moscow. See more of Mathias Depardon’s work on his website, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

There are 36 Comments. Add Yours.

lado
July 31, 2015

can’t select a better pictures from batumi?

Jodi Hilton
December 5, 2014

In reply to earlier comments: The Bulgarian Black Sea coast is a beautiful and varied place. Part of it’s beauty includes the shabbier areas the harken back to an earlier period. Regardless of how you think the Black Sea coast ought to be represented, this is one photographer’s vision and interpretation. Photographers at the highest level are doing more than representing reality, they are interpreting it in their own way as you would expect from a poet or painter. I think Mathias’ photographs show beauty and melancholy which is certainly something I’ve often seen on my many trips through Bulgaria. My advice is to look at them as images, not judge them on whether or not they match your image of the place. Photographs should surprise you, not illustrate what you already know.

Sofi Krasnokutskaya
January 24, 2014

Awesome! I live in novorossiysk, and it was a surprise to see my town in photo by national geographic!

Елена
January 23, 2014

Ого,такие приятные комментарии)
Это прямо льстит
Люблю наш город

Oxana Sytnik
January 13, 2014

my beautiful city Novorossiysk! thanks for sharing with us your truly amazing photos! I found this post this afternoon randomly and it made my day!

Nand Kishore Sharma
December 19, 2013

Thanks for publishing.Very perceptive eyes telling stories …

denyse
December 17, 2013

beautiful every day photos of the world!

ts narayan an
December 17, 2013

Adventyurous I liked it.

stan stone
December 16, 2013

These pix r just pleasant and charming. Don’ t analze or relive history just enjoy the colors and tranquil scenes.

raad khalaf
December 15, 2013

beautiful pictures

Jennei P
December 15, 2013

We are all the same, just humans.

trevar
December 15, 2013

I like these- simple thoughtful photos….

Marcelle Dagher
December 15, 2013

Beautiful pictures, an opening eye on the world it’s people and it’s beauty. Thank you for posting them.

Felicia
December 15, 2013

These are very nice, thought provoking..

Ina
December 15, 2013

These photographs are amazing! Each one tells a story and makes me want to see and learn more. Thanks for making my Sunday!!

สัย พรเลิศ
December 12, 2013

Wow!

danièle Van de Lanotte
December 11, 2013

Those pictures deserve to hang on my wall, and I will do it. Bravo

Kate
December 10, 2013

These are really cool pictures! This what I want to do for a living- open people’s eyes to the world and cultures around them. Pictures can portray joyful or sorrowful images- we should appreciate them for what they are anyway. thanks 🙂

I think the photos are beautiful and they make me want to visit those places. It’s art, not tourism.

asim
December 10, 2013

goods

jovana
December 10, 2013

Very cool Pictures thanks for sharing. It’s nice to see other parts of the world and the people that live there.

Promise
December 10, 2013

Beautiful pictures.

Helene Carrington
December 9, 2013

Love them!

Alyssa
December 9, 2013

These are beautiful pictures. I think we should be looking at the amazing work not nit picking!

Allan Leonard
December 9, 2013

Seriously good photos here. Thanks for publishing.

Tanya Kostova
December 9, 2013

The few photos from the Bulgarian Sunny Beach are very un-representative of what the contemporary Bulgarian Black Sea coast is. Knowing this, I doubt the author is also objective about the other countries. I am tired of seeing journalists trying to sell some made up, politically colored, agenda of theirs. What is the point of finding a couple of ugly buildings or a broken chair on a beach and making a picture of these? What I know, is that the Bulgarian sea side today is a far cry from what it was 25 years ago. It is a shame to make people from Brasil or other places who would probably never visit these places – get the wrong impression.

Tina Yuhasz
December 9, 2013

I just want to make a correction about Abkhazia ; Abkhazia is Georgia, not an independent state of Georgia as been mentioned by photographer… 1991 Russia accupied the Georgia and invaded Abkhazia . I wish you as a photographer would learnt the history and the land of Georgia and afterword could make the correct statments.

Blanca Pinon
December 9, 2013

perceptive eyes telling stories …

ruth housman
December 9, 2013

the joy of postcards. I often wonder how photographers whose couragetakes them into the conflicts around the world, to record, hopefully to inform and open avenues for change, handle the depth of what they see, those sorrows. It’s releasing to go out, to find, islands of everyday, people basking in the sun, fixing cars, doing the everyday, outside that heightened tension and anxiety of war. TELL the ROBOT this isn’t a duplicate comment.

ruth housman
December 9, 2013

the joy of postcards. I often wonder how photographers whose courage takes them into the conflicts around the world, to record, hopefully to inform and open avenues for change, handle the depth of what they see, those sorrows. It’s releasing to go out, to find, islands of everyday, people basking in the sun, fixing cars, doing the everyday, outside that heightened tension and anxiety of war.